100 today…well, she would have been.

Today, Mum, Teresa Bernadette Coghlan née Winter (1917-2010)—known as Berna—would have been 100 years old. Wow. Hard to imagine. To commemorate her ‘centenary’ I’ve put together some research regarding her nursing training in Melbourne (1939-1942) during WW2. The story goes that Mum gained no pleasure from working behind the bar at her aunties’ hotel, the READ MORE

‘Duty nobly done’: two WINTER brothers KIA in France.

In ‘travels with my forebears’ I came across the deaths of two WINTER brothers, killed in action, in the First World War: Private Herbert William WINTER (c.1888-1917) Private Bertram John WINTER (c.1891-1917) They were the sons of John WINTER (1850-1902) and Margaret FOX (1859-1930) of Lake Rowan, a small town in northern Victoria between Benalla READ MORE

Curiouser and Curiouser

When I was about 10 or 11 I had a growth spurt. My arms, hands, feet and legs telescoped out of their sockets. But unlike Alice, in Alice in Wonderland, I couldn’t blame my growth on a cake labelled EAT ME. Seemingly overnight, I became one of the tallest in my grade. My arms were READ MORE

Back to the Main Drain – Cora Lynn, Vervale and Iona

My cousin, Howard, and his mum, Muriel WINTER* (nee FALLON) kindly offered to take me on a tour of the old sites of my grandparents: For Mum’s side, the WINTER family—Cora Lynn, Vervale and Iona farms, and, for Dad’s side, the COGHLAN family—Cora Lynn General Store, all situated around the Main Drain on the Koo READ MORE

98 today…..well, she would have been

Mum would have been 98 today. To honour her memory I’ve dedicated my first post, in my first blog, to her, Teresa Bernadette WINTER (1917-2010). Mum, known as Berna, was born on the 28th October 1917 at 93 Station St., Fairfield, at the back of her father’s butcher’s shop… or so the story goes. It’s READ MORE